One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
by DarkChain
Summary: Post TP: A ball is held to thank the Hero and celebrate his victory. Naturally, the Hero is expected to dance with the Princess. The problem? Link doesn't know a thing about dancing. Seems like it's up to Zelda to teach him. [ZeLink] [One-shot]


**A/N:** I don't know a thing about dancing, so excuuuuuuse me, princess. Please enjoy and leave some feedback in the review section down below!

* * *

Link scrunched up his face at the sight of his reflection in the large mirror that stretched from the ceiling all the way to the floor of the chamber that had been assigned to him in the still partly destroyed castle. The hero would much rather be about anywhere else right now, especially with these ridiculous clothes they had made him wear. His tunic was perfectly fine! Link had also offered to wear his Magical Armour but apparently even that wasn't posh enough (despite how much it was worth, actually).

And now, Link was stuck in this itchy, way too eye-catching get-up. The hero had always been more of a practical guy, all of these strange courtly standards were a bigger mystery to him than any kind of magic could ever be. He was honoured to have this grand ball hosted for him and everything, but a simple "Thank you" and a bottle of milk would've done the job as well. Link was way too polite to refuse such an offer of course, especially when it had come from the princess.

So here he was, glaring daggers at the atrocious shoes they had made him wear. They were all shiny and looked brand-new, but why did they have to be so pointy? And what were those stupid heels for?! Link knew that it was common for noblemen to wear heels to make themselves look taller, but in his opinion it was more of a girl thing anyway. The blonde had crossed mountains and deserts in his trusty boots – he was able to walk miles in them without his feet getting sore. But these… torture devices would be a pain to even wear for a single evening!

The rest of his outfit was just as bad. A deep indigo dress shirt was tucked neatly into a pair of wide, black puffy pants. He also wore a black vest above his shirt with silver buttons in the shape of Triforces – way too cheesy for his liking. Atop of all that was a blue surtout that matched the colour of his eyes, all complete with huge shiny buttons, frills on his sleeves and a white lace on his collar.

Link looked like a goddess damn peacock in this! Oh, did he mention that they even replaced his earrings with diamond ones? Yeah, that was just utterly ridiculous. A few minutes back, a maid had come in to try and tame his golden strands but she had learned that his hair practically had a will of his own, so at least that remained as it was before.

Still, as the hero stood there and regarded his appearance in the mirror, he couldn't help but feel incredibly embarrassed. Link had already planned to leave Hyrule after this ball, even if it meant he'd have to leave the princess too. Well, this parting wouldn't last forever and he really needed to get away from this boring normality. If all his life would consist of now would be banquets and balls, Link would never be fully satisfied. He also couldn't go back to his life as it had been before all this had happened – his heart craved the thrill of adventure more now than it had ever before.

As the blonde still grimaced at his reflection, he only barely registered the faint knocking on his door. "Uh, you can come in – the door's open."

The same young maid that had been here earlier opened the heavy wooden door and stepped in with a bow. "The Princess asks whether the Hero is ready to prepare for the opening dance with her Highness." The girl shot the hero a warm smile that quickly faded when she noticed the flabbergasted expression on his slightly paled face. "Oh, were you not informed? It is expected that you and the princess open the ball with a dance."

Link just stared at the girl wide-eyed as panic started to rise up in his chest. He quickly tried to swallow it down and cleared his throat before he returned he smile to the maid, albeit it was a bit shaky. "Y-yes, the dance, of course… I guess this is a ball after all, haha. Um, would you mind telling the princess to meet me here in order to, er, prepare?" Link could've kicked himself for his stupid babbling, but he was honestly terrified right now.

Yes, he had known that going to a ball probably involved dancing but nobody had told him he would have to dance with Zelda in front of a hundred nobles watching solely them! He couldn't do this, there was no way he could to this! Link didn't know how to dance, he had never done it before! And with the princess of all people – so awkward! Oh, how he wished to just transform into a wolf and scarper out of here.

"Yes, I'll tell her immediately." With that, the maid swiftly left the chamber and left Link alone in his misery.

The hero kicked his shield that was resting on the ground near the bed and instantly cursed the goddamn shoes he was wearing. They weren't even good for kicking things.

"I'm so screwed!" The in this moment not-so-glorious hero moaned as he sunk down onto the bed and hid his face in his hands. What kind of wicked test had the goddesses come up for him now? Had he not overcome enough challenges to prove his worth? Had all his deeds not been enough? Was his whole existence just a game in the hands of bored entities that sought distraction from their own dull lives? Yeah, let's not go there.

As Link sat there and let every possible solution to his predicament run through his mind, he didn't notice the faint noise of the door opening.

"You called for me?" A melodic female voice shook the boy from his thoughts and when he looked up from where he had been glowering at the door, Link couldn't help but stare in awe.

Zelda had always been beautiful, but tonight she looked gorgeous – truly like the incarnation of a goddess. Her brown hair was open and fell in shining waves down her back and around her porcelain face. Red lips smiled at him and dark lashes surrounded sharp cerulean eyes. A golden tiara rested gracefully atop her head and she wore tear-shaped sapphires as earrings. The dress she wore was of the same colour, sleeveless and tight around her upper body and flowing down like a waterfall around her hips, ruffled at the bottom and hemmed with white lace. Matching white lace gloves enveloped her delicate hands and reached up until her elbows. Around Zelda's neck hung a big, golden necklace complete with various insignia and triforce symbols plastered all about.

After a few moments of shameless staring, Link greeted the princess with a weak smile. "You look absolutely breath-taking, princess. Seems they did a better job dressing up you than they did me."

A small chuckle escaped Zelda's lips as she sat down on the bed next to Link and regarded his outfit with amusement in her azure eyes. "I think it suits you. You should try wearing blue more often."

Link groaned as he hid his face in his hands again. "Not you too. Besides, my Zora Tunic is blue and I wear that one fairly often."

"Complaining about your clothes aside, why did you want me to come here? Wouldn't preparing for the dance better be done in, well, the ballroom? What's bothering you, Link?" Zelda pried his hands from his face and leaned in a little closer so she could get a better look at the hero's expression. As she realized it was one of distress, the princess knit her brow in concern.

Link shyly glanced at the girl next to him, embarrassed at the prospect of having to tell her of his inability to properly open the ball with her. "About the dance…" Link started but quickly trailed off, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "They only told me about it now and…"

Zelda nodded solemnly, hand resting on her chin and eyes closed in thought. "I understand." She said, her brow still furrowed.

"You do?" Link asked in surprise, cerulean eyes lighting up with excitement. Maybe he wouldn't have to make a complete fool out of himself after all!

"Yes. It's apparent that the thought of dancing with me makes you uncomfortable." The princess conceded with an almost comically serious expression.

"Exactly!" Link called out in relief, maybe he wouldn't have to dance after all. "Dancing is just something that I-"

But the hero was promptly interrupted by the princess.

"Though I am disappointed that despite all we've been through together you're still not able to treat me like all your other friends."

"-absolutely cannot do in front of pe- wait, what?!" Unable to finish his sentence, Link stared at the girl next to him in utter surprise. It was only now that he noticed how her azure eyes slightly wavered. Understanding hit him hard and Link could've very well added another punch for his own tactlessness.

"That's not what I was going to say at all!" Link hastily tried to explain, instantly grabbing a hold of Zelda's delicate hands so that she would look at him. When their eyes met, he saw understanding in hers and a small, slightly sheepish smile on her lips. The blonde kept on blabbering anyways. "I'm sorry for saying it like that, it has nothing to do with you at all. I'm just for the love of Nayru unable to dance and hearing about our opening dance got me really riled up, so-"

Once, again, Link was interrupted by Zelda, this time by a light punch to his upper arm. "I already got it, and I must apologies for jumping to conclusion like that." Link was rewarded with a blinding smile from her, something that wasn't common for the stoic princess. At least it hadn't been, but the more time the two had spent together, her bright smiles had become more frequent. Link preferred it this way. Sure, her withdrawn and distant smiles had made her look all the more like royalty, unapproachable and elegant like a goddess. But a bright smile such as this one, with wrinkled eyes and pearl white teeth showing, was a beauty of such kind he had never seen before and it made his heart pound painfully in his chest.

"So, you really can't dance?" Zelda broke the comfortable silence that had laid itself over them. The smile had transformed into a grin – it usually meant nothing good for him, but Link loved that one too – and the princess got up, her sapphire blue dress flowing around her like cascades of glittering water.

"Nope, not one bit." Link said as he got up as well, a depressed aura all around him.

"Then I'll just have to teach you. You're very athletic and a fast learner, so there should be no problem." Zelda demanded with the voice of a true leader talking to her kingdom as she grabbed Link's hands and pulled him closer.

"You realize we only have an hour left, right?" The hero watched sceptically as the princess guided one of his hands towards her hip while she intertwined his other with her own. Then she rested her other hand on his shoulder and looked at him with utter determination.

"How long did it take you to learn how to use a bow? Or how to wield a giant ball-and-chain? Or how to skate around on a strange spinning artefact?"

"But all of those were weapons! Dancing is something entirely else, you need precise footwork and a sense for rhythm!"

"All of which you no doubt possess. Link, I've seen you do things that are much more incredible than dancing. Remember last week, when you back flipped all the way from Kakariko to Ordon only to show me how it was faster than walking normally?"

"Ugh, don't remind me of that, I still feel nauseous." Despite the not so great memory, Link brightened up a bit and after taking a deep breath, he faced Zelda head on. "Okay, let's do this!"

Even without music, the two of them soon started moving, out of sync and clumsy. Despite how determined he was and how hard he concentrated, Link was simply unable to memorize the steps no matter how slowly and carefully Zelda tried to show him.

"Maybe some music would help…?" Zelda trailed off as she looked around the room. What did she expect to find, a harp just conveniently lying around? Surprisingly, there really was no instrument here. Like, why in Din's name would there be one?

Zelda noticed Link's face falling again when they just stood there silently, so she decided to become the instrument herself. With closed eyes, Zelda started to sing a slow ballade that had been passed down through generations in the royal family. When she slowly blinked her eyes open again, she noticed Links gaze on her. But it seemed like he was staring right through her, a distant look in his azure eyes.

"This song… It's somehow familiar…" He seemed to mumble to himself but when Zelda once again started moving, the melodious words that left her mouth laced with magic, he was quickly brought back to reality.

He tried to follow her steps, small pearls of sweat forming on his forehead. It was no use in the end though, sometimes trying your best just isn't good enough.

Soon, Zelda's voice died out and she had to get something to drink to stop the itch in her throat. As soon as she left his chamber to call for a servant, Link sunk down on the bed again. He didn't care if he looked like a sulking kid right now, but he simply couldn't accept this situation. There had to be some sort of solution, there always was. That's simply how puzzles worked!

When Zelda returned, she found Link moping around on the bed again and she bit her lip in frustration. She really wanted to help him somehow, it pained her to see him suffer even if it was only a small thing like this. No, it wasn't small for him, she shouldn't think like that.

As the princess closed the door behind her, her eyes felt on Link's sword resting on the wall near the door. It wasn't the Mastersword, which was resting securely in its pedestal right now, but the sword from Ordon he had used previously. As an abstract idea started to form in the girl's mind, she reached out and unsheathed the sword, holding it out in front of her and inspecting the blade closely.

Link looked from where he was laying when he heard the familiar sound of steel scraping the leather sheath. As he saw Zelda standing there, blade pointed at him and unreadable expression on her face, a slight shudder overcame him. Yeah, he still remembered his fight against Puppet Zelda. Good times, good times.

Suddenly, Link got up, azure eyes beaming with excitement. "I see what you're doing, princess. I can't dance when I'm injured!" He exclaimed solemnly as he stood in front of her and held out his arms.

The princess stared at him in bewilderment as she silently questioned his sanity before elegantly face-palming with an exhausted sigh.

"No, Link, I won't hurt you. Listen, I think I found a way to get you out of this predicament…"

* * *

Only mere moments later, Link and Zelda stood in the middle of the ballroom, nobles and other guests alike stood all around them on the dance floor. They provided them enough room to move but still stood closw enough the see their dance in its full glory.

Zelda nodded towards the conductor of the orchestra who gave her a thumbs-up even though he still looked mildly confused. She then turned her pretty face towards a nervously fidgeting Link.

"Are you ready?" She asked, a tad bit worried as she realized how pale his face actually was.

Link's eyes flickered from her over the conductor to all the people around them. He barely registered how beautiful the hall they were in looked with its golden lights and colourfully dressed people. He hadn't even noticed the amounts of food piled on the tables behind him!

"Do you really think this will work?" He asked in a hushed voice, eyes narrowing as if he perceived the guests as a horde of enemies instead of friends and spectators.

Zelda rolled her eyes at the hero and instead grabbed his hands and positioned them. She gave him a final reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before the music started up.

Gasps and confused murmurs went around the hall as instead of the usual slow waltz music, a slightly fast paced and more rhythmical music filled the entire castle with its magical melody. Link slowly pressed his eyes shut, ears twitching slightly as he tried to let the music take over.

Suddenly, he felt Zelda lightly step towards him and he stepped back, pulling her along. Images flashed in his mind of battles he had fought and his feet immediately followed the movements he knew so well – advancing, stepping back, circling around his 'opponent'. At first he was self-conscious, wondering whether he looked stupid and was an embarrassment for Zelda. But it didn't take long for him to relax as his legs worked on their own, in sync with Zelda as if the two were sparring with their swords.

Her hand was warm and soft in his own rough one and her hair was tickling his face every time they made a slightly quicker turn. Who would've thought that simply imagining this dance as a fight would've made it actually enjoyable? But it wasn't just that. Link knew it wouldn't have worked with anybody else, he had Zelda to thank for this. And the least he could do was make sure she enjoyed it as well.

As they spun around on the dance floor in a flash of blue and gold, Link finally managed to open his eyes. No longer was he overwhelmed by the people around them, they were long forgotten. All he could see was the princess as she smiled up at him, all bright and shining and magical. Link was confident no treasure, not even the Triforce itself would be able to compete with her. Their gazes locked, drowning in the other's endless pools of sapphire, the world around them seemed to fade away. Time and space lost their meaning when their hearts beat in sync like this.

Soon the music slowed down and eventually came to a halt – so did they. The voices around them seemed strangely muffled and Link no longer cared if he received words of praise or disapproval. His hand was still intertwined with Zelda's, her smile still all he cared about.

They stood like this for a moment, slightly out of breath and – Link wasn't sure if it was because of the heat from dancing or something else entirely – red-faced. Link finally let out a shaky yet relieved sigh that quickly turned into a chuckle.

"That was very brave of you, Link. And you actually weren't half bad!" Zelda exclaimed happily as she beamed at him like the rising sun.

"Courage is my specialty after all, princess. And I guess wisdom is yours, I would've never thought so far ahead." He said with a lopsided grin, still holding onto her hand.

"I'm glad that I did, it was fun."

Link nodded in agreement, his heart still racing faster than it should. He would've loved wiping the sweat off of his hand but he didn't dare letting go of the princess for even a second.

"Well then, are you ready for round two? This is a slow one." Zelda stepped closer with a mysterious smile and laid her arm around his upper-back. Link's stomach seemed to turn when she rested her head under his chin, her hair like silk on his skin – it was a perfect fit. The scent of lavender filled his nose as he laid his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer as if they were melting into one.

The music started up again and the two of them began to slowly sway from left to right, not really leaving the spot where they were standing. Link felt his skin tingling as he held the princess in his arms, warming him like the sun on a hot day and making his stomach drop repeatedly like falling through the clouds.

"See, you can dance just fine now, too." Zelda breathed into his ear before turning her hand and gazing up at him.

"It's not really dancing, more like h-hugging, princess." Link couldn't suppress the stutter, as if he himself had only now realized what they were doing.

The princess let out a chuckle that sounded like the strings of a harp to Link, but her gaze seemed to turn a little wistful.

"Don't always call me princess. You should call your girlfriend by her name." She whispered as she watched the hero's expression carefully. Link felt like his face was practically burning at this point, azure eyes wide with surprise and confusion.

"W-what are you…? H-how did you…?" Link stumbled over every single word as his mind decided to go completely blank right now.

Zelda just continued to chuckle, although her cheeks were slightly tinted as well. "Wisdom, remember? I noticed some time ago. I thought you of all people would have the courage to confess, but…" She trailed off and her eyes became clouded with sadness. "I heard you were planning on leaving, so I simply thought I shouldn't wait any longer and I… I just-"

She abruptly broke off with a sigh as she loosened her grip on Link, creating some distance between them. Link cursed himself for just standing there like a moron as he simply continued to stare. Even though his heart was being clenched by an ice-cold claw as he was the look in Zelda's eyes, he took a second too long to react and the girl just turned around, ready to leave him standing there.

As if he had been hit by a bolt of lightning, Link jumped back into action and reached for Zelda's hand again, successfully spinning her around so that they were facing each other.

"You planned all this, didn't you? This whole ball… It's my farewell party…right?" It pained Link to say this, but the way Zelda avoided his eyes and simply nodded curtly pained him even more.

"I just wanted you to know, that… That I feel the same way. But it was stupid, really. I'm making your parting even more painful…" She started biting her lower lip, Link always found it endearing. But seeing it now made him sick because he knew it was a sign of her distress.

"Zelda, how about we forget about that for this evening. We should dance and enjoy ourselves tonight, right? I won't just leave tomorrow without another word, I promise. We still have plenty of time before it's time to say good-bye." He watched in utter relief as Zelda's eyes lit up again and her bright smile returned to her beautiful lips.

"You're right, but more importantly – That's the first time you called me by my name!" The princess beamed as she leaned in closer until Link could literally count every single lash of hers.

Before Link realized what was happening, her lips brushed briefly against his. It wasn't sloppy or passionate but instead a touch so soft and light like a feather – like delicate wings of a butterfly. Their foreheads touched and soon, they were losing themselves in each other's gazes once again.

"Teach me how to dance some more, Zelda."

"It would be my pleasure, Link."

Their hands once again intertwined as they spun across the dance floor. They stayed like that the entire night.


End file.
